The outlook for domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe remained negative, although they have been largely stable in the week ended Wednesday April 17, sources have told Fastmarkets.
Domestic HRC prices in Europe have been under pressure from limited trading activity and they were expected to gradually decline, according to market participants."The market is showing a trend in a negative direction. Prices are stable or sliding," a Northern European trader said.Market participants hoped that buyers would return to the market for restocking in April, but this has not happened. And the Easter holidays in Europe at the end of this week mean that there are fewer working days this month, so buying activity in April as a whole was unlikely to improve.Some sources believed that the buyers would resume purchasing larger volumes of HRC in May, because that is the best time to make deals before the seasonal summertime lull. But...